On March 14, the Milwaukee Brewers announced that star closer Devin Williams would be out for three months with two stress fractures in his back. The reigning NL Reliever of the Year is now back on the mound, making some of baseball’s best hitters look ridiculous.
Milwaukee held onto the top spot in the NL Central despite losing Williams, but he returned on July 28 against the Miami Marlins and since then, it’s been like he never left. His pitching is back to the elite level we know it to be and his clutch continues to shine on the mound as the Brewers recently split the series with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Williams recorded back-to-back saves.
In his return against the Marlins, he struck out one batter and allowed no runs, which is impressive after being out of action for nearly 100 days. The Washington Nationals suffered the same fate despite the team’s loss, and the Atlanta Braves are the only team to score a run against Williams this season.
In the last three games in which Williams has pitched, he has not allowed a hit or a walk. Cincinnati saw all three batters strikeout when Williams got the save in the Brewers’ 1-0 win. Then came the series with the Dodgers.
Trailing 2-0 and struggling on both sides of the ball, Milwaukee was the last line of defense and stood up to the star-studded Dodgers. On Wednesday, August 14, the Brewers were up 5-4 with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman all entering in the ninth inning. Three of the most feared batters in baseball faced the best closer and failed. Ohtani fielded, Betts struck out and Freeman threw the ball. But that wasn’t all of Williams’ performance.
The following night, Milwaukee led 6-4 and Williams did it again. Andy Pages retired before Betts and Ohtani had a chance to turn the tide and win the Series for the Dodgers and move atop the National League. A fierce changeup caught Betts swinging and Ohtani missed a high fastball, prompting loud cheers from the Brewers fans and a roar and fist pump from an excited Williams.
The Brewers have struggled with injuries all season and the bullpen is without Abner Uribe, Hoby Milner and Trevor Megill, so the timing for Williams’ return couldn’t be better. Loss of Christian Yelich is also important on offense and therefore having an elite closer is a tremendous help when the offense stagnates.
There’s a month and a half left in the regular baseball season, and the Brewers hold a comfortable nine-game lead over the rest of the NL Central, a league-high. Williams will continue to work his way through the rest of the season after such a long layoff, so expect him to get back into full swing in the postseason, where he may be more valuable than ever.
